Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Apr;3(2):120-34.
doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2224-4336.2014.03.02.

Preterm birth and single nucleotide polymorphisms in cytokine genes

Qin Zhu  1 , Jian Sun  1 , Ying Chen  1
Affiliations
Review

Preterm birth and single nucleotide polymorphisms in cytokine genes

Qin Zhu et al. Transl Pediatr. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Preterm birth (PTB) is an important issue in neonates because of its complications as well as high morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of PTB is approximately 12-13% in USA and 5-9% in many other developed countries. China represents 7.8% (approximately one million) of 14.9 million babies born prematurely annually worldwide. The rate of PTB is still increasing. Both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors are the major causes of PTB. Inflammation is regarded as an enabling characteristic factor of PTB. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literatures to illustrate the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytokine genes in PTB. These polymorphisms are different among different geographic regions and different races, thus different populations may have different risk factors of PTB. SNPs affect the ability to metabolize poisonous substances and determine inflammation susceptibility, which in turn has an influence on reproduction-related risks and on delivery outcomes after exposure to environmental toxicants and pathogenic organisms.

Keywords: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); cytokine gene; preterm birth (PTB).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO : recommended definitions, terminology and format for statistical tables related to the perinatal period and use of a new certificate for cause of perinatal deaths. Modifications recommended by FIGO as amended October 14, 1976. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 1977;56:247-53. - PubMed
    1. Ngoc NT, Merialdi M, Abdel-Aleem H, et al. Causes of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths: data from 7993 pregnancies in six developing countries. Bull World Health Organ 2006;84:699-705. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blencowe H, Cousens S, Oestergaard MZ, et al. National, regional, and worldwide estimates of preterm birth rates in the year 2010 with time trends since 1990 for selected countries: a systematic analysis and implications. Lancet 2012;379:2162-72. - PubMed
    1. Meis PJ, Michielutte R, Peters TJ, et al. Factors associated with preterm birth in Cardiff, Wales. II. Indicated and spontaneous preterm birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1995;173:597-602. - PubMed
    1. Goldenberg RL, Culhane JF, Iams JD, et al. Epidemiology and causes of preterm birth. Lancet 2008;371:75-84. - PMC - PubMed